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In early 80’s few coaching centers gained reputation from nationwide and since then it has established itself as the coaching hub of the country.

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Thousands of student flock here every year to prepare for competitive exams. The whole economy of Kota city is largely dependent on these coaching institutes. Roughly 1.6 lakh teenagers from the surrounding states flock to Kota’s coaching institutes every year, paying between 50,000 and a lakh for annual tuition.

Though, recently Kota is projecting itself as a suicide hub of country in national and international media coverage. Recently, a 17 year old girl committed suicide. Before jumping from a 5 storey building, she wrote a suicide note which opened many questions about Kota and its system for us to ponder over.

If you scroll wikipedia, this is how it starts describing Kota –

SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA

Always known for the 3K’s – Kota Kachori; Kota Stone; Kota Doria, the city has made a name for itself in various different aspects – ranging from food to sustainable businesses.

But is that it ?

In the admist of Kota institiutes giving top ranks in IIT-JEE / AIMPT, construction of many many hostels, peek in economic growth as well as in the number of suicides, Kota Kachori becoming spicer evey year, and more; the city has begun to see a new wave which has nothing to do with education, studies, success, stress, or competitive exams.

Kota is already blessed with ceaseless water supply, lip-smacking cuisine and some of the most picturesque surroundings close by full of natural beauty – the city has everything you would want in your getaway. But make no mistake. It is not some rural, secluded town amidst dessert. It exudes an alluring character of its own making it one of the most unique cities of the country. Some people complain that Kota does not have a life because that everything gets closed past 9 pm. We think differently, and we make sure after reading this post you’ll too !

Like always there are few who seem to be critical, their doubt being whether this change would hamper the image of Kota as an education city.We feel happier than ever. Sticking to just few options always put limitations. While exploration tends to sprout new possibilities; it breaks the old ways of doing and creates a new aura of enthusiasm.

Here we are talking about all new things Kota is beginning to witness.

Mr. Tea Cafe, one of the oldest and favorite cafe of Kota, has recently shifted to an amazing experience in Gumanpura. People are loving them even more !

Many more cool cafes are opening up, and we see it as just the beginning of cafe culture in town. Social Hub, one of the newly opened cafe is becoming popular among youngsters for its soothing ambiance and delicious food

The beautification of Kishore Sagar Talab has added an unimaginable charm to the city. It is becoming a favorite place for youngsters to spend their evenings. People don’t say Kishore Sagar anymore, they say KST !

We still can’t get over the beauty of Seven Wonders Park.

Troika lounge has kick started a party culture in the town, and people are just loving this place.

Troika Lounge

Party culture coming to kota with Troika Lounge

This isn’t it, something in our behavior is changing as well. We’re seeing people pursuing creative fields, as apposed to few years back when not many would dare to pursue anything other than Engineering or Medical. These young energetic people are surprising everyone with their talents and dedication.

The Music Club started by Gaurav Gupta has become a one stop place for all music lovers in town. Last sunday of every month, they have an OPEN SUNDAY JAM, where aspiring musicians perform and people come to listen to them.

Some amazing videos are also made by professional filmmakers. This video by Shakti Pratap Singh captures the Kota in a way we would have never imagined

Young people are not just having fun ! They believe in the notion of WORK HARD, PLAY HARD. This startup ‘Mr. Hot‘ by IIT- Kharagpur alumnuis revolutionizing the mess-center food industry in the coaching hub. They are providing customized food service within budget.

People are coming forward to support various social initiatives like plantation, free education for poor children, etc. Various NGOs are doing their bit to make the city a better place for everyone to live.

And we’re doing some cool stuff as well. As the only cherished blog of Kota, we’re organizing MEETUPS with young talented individuals every month at Mr. Tea Cafe to build a community of creative people and to give everyone in the city a platform to interact, share, and learn from each other.

Are you still stuck with the same IIT mindset and see Kota just as a city of competition and coaching ?

Or you have grown over it (maybe tired of it, finally) and eager to welcome a lighter, brighter and more lively side of Kota and life as a whole.

Share your views with us.

Special thanks to Namrata for the featured poster and Neha for the inputs in the content

Arnav Saroya

Dr Neerja Sandoo

Dear Arnav
You have done an amazing job by shaking people out of their set mindset about kota,actually leading our minds from the negative to the positive side,I am sure work is also being done to de-stress children n parents alike to deal with the suicide problem. But Kota as a city is warm n creative ,do add the historical aspects too ,in your next posts.Congratulations and continue the the good work you are doing,my image about kota is bright and splashed with many hues of cheer.
Dr Neerja Sandoo. Ajmer

Sugandha Sharma

I appreciate the fact that you have highlighted the “other” good things about Kota. But I disagree with the theme you chose to start with! Kota’s Coaching Industry has brought name and fame to our city and has given loads of employment opportunities to the local citizens. So we, the citizens residing here should focus on the positive aspects rather than highlighting the negativity we have been facing in the recent past. We could have focused more on the good results rather than highlighting the suicides (Which have been defaming Kota recently). I believe we should chose our words more carefully!

Saurabh Khandelwal

Hi,
I appreciate the efforts you are doing to make the people aware of the fame of Kota and about the specialities of Kota. But don’t you think you are going on a very wrong track when it comes to the coaching part. You mentioned in your blog about the tragic situation what Kota is facing i.e. the rise in suicides of the students but don’t you think as a responsible citizen of Kota city we should try to cut down these things what is actually affecting the name and fame of Kota city and stop blaming the Main Economy of Kota “Coachings” for this which is not at all fully responsible for this critical issue. On one hand when even the prominent media of country is trying to motivate the students studying at Kota by covering the positive stories of Kota coaching students this blog of yours might act as a catalyst for more negativity. I hope you will give it a deep thought and will be more careful in future with your next write-ups.

Pinki Bakhshi

well written Arnav , a shift from the K factor to the D [Daring ] factor. New generation is all set to give this city a new image and off course a new avenue for economy as well as social hangouts. Already Enough of Maadsaab’s this City needs initiatives and now we can witness few from the youth. Hats off to all those who are making a difference. Let Kota rock n roll .

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KotaCityBlog.com is the only digital platform in Kota to read news and know everything exciting and significant happening in Kota city. With the medium of this blog, we're also trying to build a community which makes effort to raise critical issues in the society and solve problems of the city.